REFERENCE / ZLIB × LEAN

deflateEnd

Release the compressor, discarding any unfinished work.

Source snapshot · 39ab1ace4bbe0b0e · Source at the matching commit ↗

Read the function’s preconditions and results first. Expand the shared rules below for buffer and ownership requirements used throughout this API group.

int ZEXPORT deflateEnd(z_streamp strm);

Release the compressor, discarding any unfinished work.

Domain Restricted domain. Effect: free owned state.

Pre live stream in any phase, with the default free routine intact.

Post free all five owned allocations exactly once and set state to NULL. Caller input/output and header storage are unchanged and remain caller-owned. Return Z_DATA_ERROR if the saved status is busy, otherwise Z_OK. Both results release everything: Z_DATA_ERROR reports unfinished compression, not failed cleanup. No later compression call is valid until reinitialisation.

Outside focused scope: a failed stream check, including a second end, returns Z_STREAM_ERROR without freeing anything. Return status depends on internal compression phase, not merely whether every produced byte was delivered.

Shared conditions and scope

API manual · Shared stream rules · Stream decompression

Use a z_stream compressor when input arrives in pieces, output space is limited, or you need a chosen wrapper, dictionary or flush boundary. Initialize once, call deflate with successive buffers, and end the stream even if compression is abandoned. For a single buffer, see compress and compress2.

Task	Entries
Start or reuse	Init, configured init, reset, reset retaining history
Supply metadata or history	Dictionary, read history, gzip header
Compress and size output	Deflate, bound, pending output, last flush bits
Adjust or branch	Parameters, tuning, priming, copy
Release storage	End

These focused contracts follow the pinned deflate.c, applied patches and zlib.h in the default LP64 Linux build. Source readings are to confirm by proof. They leave the broader registered public goals unchanged. See contract conventions for domain/effect labels and progress for proof status and remaining work.

Shared conventions

Each stated Pre requires termination without runtime faults and the stated Post. A call that retains a live stream preserves its representation invariant.

Live stream: a writable z_stream with a compressor state established by successful init or copy, preserved by legal calls, and not ended. The caller does not alter its internal state or allocator fields. Calls on one stream are sequential.
Buffers: input covers avail_in readable bytes; output covers avail_out writable bytes. They do not overlap each other, the stream or its owned state. A non-NULL scalar result points to a writable cell separate from other results and stream memory. These separation conditions are explicit focused assumptions; see safety.md.
Allocator: the default allocator/free pair is used, or both fields are NULL before init. Allocation may fail on any attempt. Custom allocator callbacks are outside this page's scope.
Frame and ownership: calls change only their stream, its owned state and stated output regions. Caller input is read-only. Caller buffers and header records remain caller-owned. Only init and copy allocate; only their failure cleanup and deflateEnd free memory. Other calls preserve the stream's allocation set.
Header lifetime: a retained gzip header and its optional fields remain readable and unchanged while used. Non-NULL name and comment have a terminating zero; extra covers its stated length. Focused format contracts use extra_len <= 65535.
Checked refusals: except for init and bounds, a failed stream check returns Z_STREAM_ERROR before normal operation, without writes. deflateCopy additionally clears a non-NULL destination state. Query output cells are untouched on this refusal.
Restricted domain means these explicit memory, lifetime and call-order conditions, plus the entry's Pre. It does not mean every representable pointer or integer is accepted. Error summaries cover readable checked states, not arbitrary invalid addresses.

Formal contract

ZlibF.Spec.Public.Goal.deflateEnd

Proof status: Registered proof · Evidence and remaining work

/-- `int deflateEnd(z_streamp strm)`.
Free all five owned blocks. An unfinished busy stream returns `Z_DATA_ERROR` after freeing. -/
def Goal.deflateEnd : Prop :=
  ∀ h r i z s, Zlib.Deflate.Spec.DGood h r i z s → z.zfree = .fn "zcfree" →
    ∃ after, C.run (Zlib.Deflate.deflateEnd (some r)) h =
      .ok ((if s.status = BUSY_STATE then Z_DATA_ERROR else Z_OK), after) ∧
      r.get after = some { z with state := none } ∧
      LiveChange h after (fun _ => False) (DeflateOwned i s) ∧
      Frame h after (fun b => StreamRoot r b ∨ DeflateOwned i s b) ∧
      after.nalloc = h.nalloc ∧ after.nextBlk = h.nextBlk

Related definitions and source ↗